Disturbing new research reveals that around four million people use illegal drugs each year in the United Kingdom.
Whether we accept it or not, it is happeneng right in front of our eyes. It raises many questions like, how do so many people access the illegal drugs? Who is making it possible? What are the implications? I did a research to find these answers. Here's what I found-
Home delivery
A bunch of under graduate students is frequently trying to call somebody on the cell phone- no response. After 5 minutes they get a call from a private number-
Boy- hello! Who’s this?
Man’s voice- where you calling on my other number a while ago?
Boy- oh yes! Are u Rajiv (name changed)?
Man’s voice- yes I am. What do you want?
Boy- I want some green (cannabis) and coke (cocaine) to be delivered at university of xyz at around 8 pm tonight. Can you get it for me?
Man’s voice- sure! I’ll see you sharp at 8:15 outside the university campus. Look for a black Mercedes. I’ll charge £80.
Beep...beep...Call cuts
It’s so easy to get drugs in this country that even the college kids have access to it. Moreover, you don’t need to go to any shady place to get it. It can be delivered anywhere anytime.
The boy who ordered the drugs over the phone later said, “I always get stuff like this. It’s so easy and exiting. And Rajiv looks so cool. He looks like a manager or something. And his car is so cool...I got his number from my friends. Everyone has it and we keep passing around his number. There are many other dealers also who do this kind of delivery. But, Rajiv gives the best stuff and at a very good price.
How the chain works
During the 1970s, when the government started to make laws to prohibit illegal drug trade, the addicts started to look for a new supply and a small black market developed around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester square in London. Almost every drug could be easily brought from this place from the peddlers. In search of funds to buy those drugs many of those addicts started selling to friends and their friends and the chain kept growing and the black market kept expanding.
Strikingly, even today, almost anyone can get hold of these drugs pretty easily at these places in London.
A personal encounter
One evening, I was walking around Leicester square in London. Suddenly, a guy starts walking next to me and whispers, “want some coke?” I say yes. The guy asks me to follow him. He asks me to wait outside a restaurant in the corner of the street. He goes to get the drug from his partner while I am waiting. Suddenly, a police officer comes and starts interrogating me. I freak out. I want to run away. But the drug guy comes back and shakes hand with the officer. They both whisper something to each other and laugh. The guy offers me the drug right in front of the officer. I am in shock....
From the above narration it’s quite obvious that even the protectors of law are involved in flourishing this evil trade. Several investigative reports on drug related police corruption suggest that a large number of on duty police officers engage in serious criminal activities like protecting drug operation on a regular basis.
The Peddler
I managed to talk to one such peddler in detail about the whole business. Here is a summary of what he told me...
“I started smoking cannabis when I was 12...today I need at least one joint every hour, I can’t walk without it. I need a dose of coke every night or I won’t get sleep...I started selling them around 10 years ago because my parents would not give me money, I had no money to buy these drugs for myself...I need it to survive, it’s my air, water and food...it’s a very safe business as long as you have good terms with the police. I give them one third of my profit to keep my business running. They are very nice people. They save us. Today, I sell cocaine, heroin, poppy, cannabis..all of them..you just name it and I’ll get whatever amount you want...”
The Police
When I tried to get a comment on this issue from the metropolitan police, a superintendent Joseph Meguire(name changed) said, “according to our investigation, there is not a single drug dealer operating in Piccadilly or Leicester area. Constant patrolling is conducted round the clock and no police officer is involved in such trade. Your claims are baseless and they are wrong and I would not make any further comment on that.”
Clearly the police do not want to accept their wrong doings. They claim they never got any such report.
They are crippling and killing us
Cocaine, heroin, cannabis etc. can be easily obtained from these peddlers who stroll around all over the city. These drugs are highly addictive and deadly. It cripples its victims physically, mentally and emotionally. It is the black market and not the drug itself that is responsible for the sufferings of its users. Black market drugs are dangerous and poisonous because the peddlers adulterate it with other substances for increasing their profit. The addicts involved in the black market overdose because they don’t have the knowledge about the purity of the drug. These addicts are thin and sick because all their money goes to the drug dealers and they are left with nothing to eat. They steal and commit several crimes for money to fund their addiction. These addicts start using a particular drug and think that they can control their habit. But, over a period of time the continued use makes a person physically, emotionally and mentally dependent on that drug.
Governments all over the world spend millions to stop drug trade and on numerous awareness programmes. Millions are arrested every year for drug related crimes. But all the effort goes in vain when corruption takes over. Even though the sale, possession or consumption of weed is illegal in the UK, this trade seems to be flourishing right under the nose of the caretakers of law and order. Today, drugs are more easily available. It is purer and cheaper.
A 1998 report by the General Accounting Office notes that on-duty police officers involved in drug-related corruption engage in serious criminal activities such as (1) conducting unconstitutional searches and seizures; (2) stealing money and/or drugs from drug dealers; (3) selling stolen drugs; (4) protecting drug operations; (5) providing false testimony; and (6) submitting false crime reports.
In the 16-29 age group, 50% had tried drugs in their lifetime, 25% in the last year and 16% in the last month. Cannabis was the most commonly used drug: over a fifth of young people aged 16-29 reported using it on a regular basis. (Source: Home Affairs Committee Third Report - "The Government's Drug Policy: Is it working?")
There were considerable regional variations in prevalence for particular drugs. London had consistently higher rates than other regions for Class A drugs, cocaine and ecstasy.
Whether we accept it or not, it is happeneng right in front of our eyes. It raises many questions like, how do so many people access the illegal drugs? Who is making it possible? What are the implications? I did a research to find these answers. Here's what I found-
Home delivery
A bunch of under graduate students is frequently trying to call somebody on the cell phone- no response. After 5 minutes they get a call from a private number-
Boy- hello! Who’s this?
Man’s voice- where you calling on my other number a while ago?
Boy- oh yes! Are u Rajiv (name changed)?
Man’s voice- yes I am. What do you want?
Boy- I want some green (cannabis) and coke (cocaine) to be delivered at university of xyz at around 8 pm tonight. Can you get it for me?
Man’s voice- sure! I’ll see you sharp at 8:15 outside the university campus. Look for a black Mercedes. I’ll charge £80.
Beep...beep...Call cuts
It’s so easy to get drugs in this country that even the college kids have access to it. Moreover, you don’t need to go to any shady place to get it. It can be delivered anywhere anytime.
The boy who ordered the drugs over the phone later said, “I always get stuff like this. It’s so easy and exiting. And Rajiv looks so cool. He looks like a manager or something. And his car is so cool...I got his number from my friends. Everyone has it and we keep passing around his number. There are many other dealers also who do this kind of delivery. But, Rajiv gives the best stuff and at a very good price.
How the chain works
During the 1970s, when the government started to make laws to prohibit illegal drug trade, the addicts started to look for a new supply and a small black market developed around Piccadilly Circus and Leicester square in London. Almost every drug could be easily brought from this place from the peddlers. In search of funds to buy those drugs many of those addicts started selling to friends and their friends and the chain kept growing and the black market kept expanding.
Strikingly, even today, almost anyone can get hold of these drugs pretty easily at these places in London.
A personal encounter
One evening, I was walking around Leicester square in London. Suddenly, a guy starts walking next to me and whispers, “want some coke?” I say yes. The guy asks me to follow him. He asks me to wait outside a restaurant in the corner of the street. He goes to get the drug from his partner while I am waiting. Suddenly, a police officer comes and starts interrogating me. I freak out. I want to run away. But the drug guy comes back and shakes hand with the officer. They both whisper something to each other and laugh. The guy offers me the drug right in front of the officer. I am in shock....
From the above narration it’s quite obvious that even the protectors of law are involved in flourishing this evil trade. Several investigative reports on drug related police corruption suggest that a large number of on duty police officers engage in serious criminal activities like protecting drug operation on a regular basis.
The Peddler
I managed to talk to one such peddler in detail about the whole business. Here is a summary of what he told me...
“I started smoking cannabis when I was 12...today I need at least one joint every hour, I can’t walk without it. I need a dose of coke every night or I won’t get sleep...I started selling them around 10 years ago because my parents would not give me money, I had no money to buy these drugs for myself...I need it to survive, it’s my air, water and food...it’s a very safe business as long as you have good terms with the police. I give them one third of my profit to keep my business running. They are very nice people. They save us. Today, I sell cocaine, heroin, poppy, cannabis..all of them..you just name it and I’ll get whatever amount you want...”
The Police
When I tried to get a comment on this issue from the metropolitan police, a superintendent Joseph Meguire(name changed) said, “according to our investigation, there is not a single drug dealer operating in Piccadilly or Leicester area. Constant patrolling is conducted round the clock and no police officer is involved in such trade. Your claims are baseless and they are wrong and I would not make any further comment on that.”
Clearly the police do not want to accept their wrong doings. They claim they never got any such report.
They are crippling and killing us
Cocaine, heroin, cannabis etc. can be easily obtained from these peddlers who stroll around all over the city. These drugs are highly addictive and deadly. It cripples its victims physically, mentally and emotionally. It is the black market and not the drug itself that is responsible for the sufferings of its users. Black market drugs are dangerous and poisonous because the peddlers adulterate it with other substances for increasing their profit. The addicts involved in the black market overdose because they don’t have the knowledge about the purity of the drug. These addicts are thin and sick because all their money goes to the drug dealers and they are left with nothing to eat. They steal and commit several crimes for money to fund their addiction. These addicts start using a particular drug and think that they can control their habit. But, over a period of time the continued use makes a person physically, emotionally and mentally dependent on that drug.
Governments all over the world spend millions to stop drug trade and on numerous awareness programmes. Millions are arrested every year for drug related crimes. But all the effort goes in vain when corruption takes over. Even though the sale, possession or consumption of weed is illegal in the UK, this trade seems to be flourishing right under the nose of the caretakers of law and order. Today, drugs are more easily available. It is purer and cheaper.
A 1998 report by the General Accounting Office notes that on-duty police officers involved in drug-related corruption engage in serious criminal activities such as (1) conducting unconstitutional searches and seizures; (2) stealing money and/or drugs from drug dealers; (3) selling stolen drugs; (4) protecting drug operations; (5) providing false testimony; and (6) submitting false crime reports.
In the 16-29 age group, 50% had tried drugs in their lifetime, 25% in the last year and 16% in the last month. Cannabis was the most commonly used drug: over a fifth of young people aged 16-29 reported using it on a regular basis. (Source: Home Affairs Committee Third Report - "The Government's Drug Policy: Is it working?")
There were considerable regional variations in prevalence for particular drugs. London had consistently higher rates than other regions for Class A drugs, cocaine and ecstasy.
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